Thursday, September 28, 2017

School librarian rejects books donated by Melania Trump

An elementary school librarian in Massachusetts has said she will reject a collection of books from First Lady Melania Trump.

Earlier this month, Ms Trump sent out collections of 10 Dr Seuss books to one school in each state to celebrate “National Read a Book Day”.

The White House said it worked “with the Department of Education to identify schools with programs that have achieved high standards of excellence.”

But in a blogpostCambridgeport Elementary School librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro said her school did not need the books, which included famous titles such asThe Cat in the Hat.

“I work in a district that has plenty of resources, which contributes directly to ‘excellence,’” she wrote. “My students have access to a school library with over nine thousand volumes and a librarian with a graduate degree in library science.”

Instead, Ms Soeiro wrote, the White House should focus more on providing support to schools that are underfunded.

“Why not go out of your way to gift books to underfunded and underprivileged communities that continue to be marginalized and maligned by policies put in place by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos?” she said.

Cambridge, where Ms Soeiro’s school is located, sits just outside of Boston and is home to two prestigious and world-renowned universities, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.

According to CBS Boston, Cambridge Public Schools said in a statement that Ms Soeiro “was not authorised to accept or reject donated books on behalf of the school or school district” and counseled her on a policy against using public resources for political purposes